Apr 16 2009
Dubai’s First Camel Cloned for Racing in Rich Arab Gulf
- Dubai’s First Camel Cloned for Racing in Rich Arab Gulf -
photo: BBC
Cloning For Speed –
Scientists at the ‘Camel Reproduction Centre’ in Dubai, are very excited at the birth of a cloned female camel named Injaz. –
Injaz , meaning ‘achievement’ was born on April the 8th, after an “uncomplicated” 378 day gestation period.
The baby camel which weighs 30kg is genetically identical to the slaughtered camel which the cells were taken from.
The cloned one humped camel is the culmination of six years’ work by scientists in Dubai who created the clone by extracting DNA from a slaughtered adult camel’s ovaries.
Dr Lulu Skidmore, scientific director said: “We are all very excited at the birth of Injaz as she is the result of great skill and teamwork of everyone at the Camel Reproduction Centre”
“This significant breakthrough gives a means of preserving the valuable genetics of our elite racing and milk-producing camels in the future.”
The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has funded this cloning project with the ultimate aim to produce fast racing camels.
Camel racing is big sport with tourists and locals in Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates and it is home to the world’s richest horseracing meeting.
Camels have been bred for speed and endurance for thousands of years by Arab Bedouins.
Since the discovery of oil camel racing has became a professional sport in the United Arab Emirates and a very lucrative sporting industry.
“The fastest camels - usually owned by sheikhs - can win millions of dollars in prizes. Camels can run at speeds up to 65 kilometres an hour.
Careful breeding, improved veterinary care and better diets have improved the speed of camels in recent years.
The successful cloning of the one-humped ungulate Injaz will bring further improvements, according to Nisar Ahmad Wani, a reproductive biologist”.
“Doing a process for the first time is like standardising a technique,” he said. “The next one definitely should be a racing camel.” -
It’s amazing that they’ve been able to clone a camel! The reasons that they’ve done it for though are absolutely disgusting. Cloning is questionable enough, but when it’s done for gambling gain it’s just so wrong. Animals should not be exploited like this, and new life should not be created purely for the purpose of racing for monetary gain.
I don’t like this at all, and whilst I do find it interesting that they’ve been able to successfully clone a camel; I don’t like the reasons behind it at all. Cloning animals for such questionable purposes just shouldn’t be allowed.
Another brilliant article from you, and I definitely enjoyed the read, it just shocked me a little that the ruler of Dubai would fund a project to turn to cloning to create faster camels for the purpose of racing. It just seems a bit wrong to me!